I agree with you Sarge, but I think "ripping you off" might be a bit off-target.<br><br>A bit off-target? I thought it was extraordinarily clumsy.<br><br>Above all, it's the sniveling and condescension, coming especially from someone who proclaims that the inaccessible battery is the very reason why HE'S not going to buy one and then proffers this as the reason why no one else should buy one either. <br><br>I would think that RAM soldered to the mobo demonstrates a far greater limitation, or being underpowered for power users, but lets not forget we are talking about an ultraportable here and they have always been heavily compromised. If real-world tests indicate battery life is significantly less than the 5-hour life Apple said it achieved then that is a valid complaint and if that is a deal-breaker, won't Apple refund your money? If so, how is that a rip-off?<br><br>All indications are, the battery is user-replaceable within minutes, provided one can use a screwdriver, you ever have a need to replace it, and you can buy one in the aftermarket.<br><br>However, it sounds like one shouldn't take technical advice from baxter because he already admitted that he cannot use a phillips screwdriver without "seriously scratching the ever loving crap out of any of them" and because he mentioned iPods in the same post, I'm sure when using the word "them" he was being all-inclusive of Apple products lacking accessible batteries. It also sounds like he doesn't understand the "proper tool for the job" concept either. Who in their right mind would use a phillips screwdriver to pry the iPod casing apart? A kit was included with the battery replacement I bought from OWC.<br><br>I don't know what to think anymore, he usually comes across as being fairly grounded and though his barbs can be a bit abrasive he does have a terrific sense of humor and he's made me chuckle on more than one occasion. But this "rip-off" stuff is unfortunate if he let's it stand.<br><br>If this notebook fails in the marketplace, it won't be because the battery is not user-replaceable. It'll be because people like baxter go around saying Apple is ripping people off. Once that is thrown out there, they don't hear anything about batteries. All they hear is Apple is ripping people off. As a shareholder and self-proclaimed evangelist, I find it offensive and feel compelled to call him on it.<br><br>I think we can all agree that Apple has never introduced a 1.0 product that wasn't flawed.<br><br>Those roadwarriors who have a need and who can afford to live on the bleeding edge of technology will buy the MBA. Apple is depending on these early adopters to provide constructive criticism in order to make the proper corrections in their action plans. Besides, how much of a real-world testing could a product like this get, especially if it never left the skunkwork lab? Anyway, the early adopters are the one's we should be listening to!<br><br>In another month or so, we can expect Poly to offer his findings and from what we know of him we can expect a thoroughly honest review of the pluses and minuses. In the meantime, if some third-party company can develop an alternate source of portable power for the MBA, it will go along way towards extending the life of this product in the marketplace. It's this halo effect that third-parties thrive on.<br><br>In twenty-five years of using Apple products baxter has never owned a laptop, so why would any roadwarrior take advice from him about the MBA?<br><br><br>M i c h a e l (OFI)

Over the years I have bought an extra battery a few times so I would have a spare when I run out of juice. It was a total waste of money. I don't think I ever once had the spare when I was running out. Batteries are heavy. The only thing the spare does is get old sitting on the shelf. <br><br><br><br><br>

[color:blue]Those roadwarriors who have a need and who can afford to live on the bleeding edge of technology will buy the MBA.</font color=blue><br><br>"Road warriors" cannot afford a machine, which is so single-purpose, not to say hampered! <br>As I wrote in response to reboots battery question, 3-4 hours won't do for anyone, who works on the road or takes flights longer than a few hours. Moreover, a road-warrior needs to be prepared for all eventualities, and that requires optical drive, several (perhaps old-fashioned) means of interfacing with the environment, and so on.<br><br>The air is a completely different animal. Wanna bet that 60+ % of buyers will be female? ;)<br>This thing is just custom made for the successful urbanite, it is an image and fashion statement as much as a tool.<br>In some interview, Jobs talks about how he and Ives decided on the shape and only then looked for the technical bits to fit inside.<br>Function follows form.<br><br>It will sell, no doubt, and the wow-effect will be substantial, which is, what I believe its main purpose in life is.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>Moreover, a road-warrior needs to be prepared for all eventualities, and that requires optical drive, several (perhaps old-fashioned) means of interfacing with the environment, and so on.<p><hr></blockquote><p>Nonsense. A road warrior just needs a laptop sometimes. I have never needed an optical drive on the road. Very rarely do I connect by anything other than wireless. Yes I will be buying the ethernet adapter and the one for hooking to a projector but that's it. <br><br>I am not a girlieman and I did not buy it for a fashion statement. I bought it because it weighs three pounds and runs Safari, Powerpoint and Word.<br><br>People continue to outline who this laptop is for and get it wrong because they are not in the market for it.<br><br>

<br>I guess it comes down to the definition of "road warrior", which to me means business: visiting clients in their offices, dealing with suppliers abroad, etc etc. Up to about 7 year ago, I did just that, crisscrossing North America and doing the transatlantic bit every 2 months. I also was responsible for training our distributors' sales forces. In those functions, one never knew what one might encounter.<br><br>If one's tasks are more predictable, then clearly, one can drop features. I also agree that these days WLANs take the place of ethernet wires. Still, there are some gaps, which I find somewhat irksome, like FireWire, which after all, was an Apple invention so to say, and not being able, to use the Air as capture laptop while on vacation, seems a shame.<br><br>By the way, apart from various PowerBooks, I also owned a PowerBook Duo 270, which was the direct ancestor of your Air. ;)<br><br><br><br><br><br>

I had the Duo 2300c and have been waiting for Apple to replace it since. You still haven't told me why an optical drive is needed. Maybe you are thinking back to when you were doing it but a simple 8GB USB2 thumb drive does all the transferring required in a meeting or in an airport. Am I really dying for something on a DVD that someone else has? Not really but transfer it to the thumb drive if I can't do it wirelessly. Am I giving data to someone else? The thumb drives are so cheap here you go and keep it. (I hand them out with my lab logo on the side.)<br><br>The optical drive is going the way of the floppy. An anachronistic leftover which eats the battery even when there isn't anything in it. Good riddance. I bought the low end MBA but the high end one is the future subnotebook. One that has zero moving parts. Hold it up to your ear and there is no hum. Just have to wait for the FlashRam to get cheaper which won't be long.<br><br>

<br>Yes, I guess one needs to rethink some situations.<br><br>A small bootable external USB drive will travel along in the suitcase, and thumbdrives are faster than optical disks anyway.<br>That the battery is enclosed wouldn't bother me, but 3-4 hours battery time are barely adequate.<br>However, 3rd-party developers will probably soon address that "opportunity". <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

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